May 21-25


Monday, 5/21
Begin "The Crucible"

The Crucible is a play that was written by Arthur Miller in 1952. It is based on the events surrounding the 1692 witch trials of Salem, MA. However, playwright Arthur Miller wrote about the event as an allegory for Senator McCarthy and the "Red Scare," which occurred in the United States in the 1950s. Miller was himself questioned by the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1956. The play was first performed on Broadway on January 22, 1953.

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!!!!

Don’t forget to complete your summer reading! Click here for the assigned book(s) and assignment: http://nssummerreading.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, June 8

What does Mr. Antolini want to point out by telling Holden the following Skekel quote?

“The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one” (188).

What does Mr. Antolini recognize in Holden and what does he fear values?

Reflect.....to hand in tomorrow (6/9).

BLOG ASSIGNMENT: Due Thursday, 6/2 Think of a particular scene in The Catcher in the Rye. If you were to set this scene to music, what song comes to mind?

1. Briefly note the scene.


2. List song, band/artist


3. Provide an excerpt from this song.

"The unexamined life is not worth living."
~ Socrates

Monday, 5/23

Exam: Julius Caesar

Follow the reading schedule to the right. We will begin our discussion tomorrow, Tuesday 5/24.

What is your impression of Holden so far? Please substantiate your thoughts using a quote from Salinger's text.
DUE: Wednesday, 5/25

Is Brutus the noblest Roman of them all?
Brutus professes the Stoic philosophy and tries to make his character fit the principles instead of adapting the rules to his character. At heart, he is gentleman - we witness his compassion for Lucius, his real love for his wife, even his love for Caesar. He is trusting to the point of guillibity, which blinds him to his own mistaken judgements.....was Brutus doomed to fail?

Respond to above using substantiation from the text.
DUE: Friday, 5/20

An Introduction to Julius Caesar Along with Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus and Titus Andronicus, Julius Caesar forms the basis of Shakespeare’s Roman plays which deal with Roman generals and the life and times of ancient Rome. Shakespeare’s source was ultimately Plutarch’s Lives of the Novel Grecians and Romans.

Julius Caesar is a political play, and political issues are the root of the tragic conflict in the play. It is a play about a general who would be king, but who, because of his own pride and ambition, meets an untimely death. Shakespeare deals with why Caesar was murdered and subsequently what happened to his murderers. Shakespeare seems to be saying that good government must be based upon morality. In this respect, Julius Caesar has relevance to the politics of the modern world.

Although the play is named Julius Caesar, Caesar dominates only the first half of the play. This fact has lead some critics to conclude that the play might more aptly be names the Tragedy of Marcus Brutus, the man who dominates much of the play. Caesar’s influence however, is felt throughout the play: after Caesar’s death, his ghost appears to Brutus the night before the battle on the plains of Philippi and both Brutus and Cassius refer to Caesar before their own deaths. Thus it might be convincingly argued that the main character is indeed Julius Caesar and that The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a fitting title for the play.